Module 1: Food Choices & Human Health Flashcards
What are the 6 categories of nutrients?
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
- Fats
- Minerals
- Vitamins
- Water
- These nutrients make up the human body and the food we eat.
- How they work together is what makes them important to overall functioning & optimal health.
What are phytochemicals?
- Non-nutrient compounds of our food.
- Give taste, aroma, colour, & may even play a role in reducing disease.
- Certain phytochemical have been associated with health benefits (e.g. red wine), however isolated chemicals don’t have the same health benefits as say eating a whole blueberry (fibre, vitamins, minerals etc.)
- Phytochemical foods contain substances such as flavonoids & antioxidants.
What functions do nutrients play in the body?
-Nutrients are required for our bodies to function properly. They do the following:
- Provide energy
- Supply building materials
- Contribute to maintenance & repair
- Support & growth
What are essential nutrients? What are their functions?
- Essential nutrients are nutrients that the body either cannot make, or cannot make fast enough, from other raw materials. As a result, they need to be obtained from food or deficiencies will occur.
- You don’t need a lot of these nutrients
- Your body can store certain essential nutrients (e.g. fat soluble fibre)
Why are foods fortified?
-Most food that is processed is fortified with essential nutrients. Whole foods contain these essential nutrients naturally.
Should you supplement essential nutrients?
-Generally you do not need to take supplements (unless you have a preexisting health condition such as cystic fibrosis, or IBS etc, that impacts your ability to absorb and digest food.)
What is an elemental diet?
- Tube or vein feed diet
- Composed of the nutrients that the body needs in a form that is easily assimilated into the body. They receive purified nutrients in the exact amount it is determined to need.
What would cause the digestive organs to atrophy? How does this affect absorption of nutrients?
-Elemental diets can causes this:
- Without normal food consumption, the digestive organs will atrophy (shrink in size) due to a lack of digestive tract stimulation. This decreases the body’s ability to absorb nutrients & may weaken the body’s defence against certain infections.
- Marketed as “meal replacers.”
- Does not provide all of the benefits of food.
What does it mean to be malnourished?
- Malnutrition: Not having enough or having too much of a nutrient. This can affect your health not just today but 20,30, 40+ yrs from now.
- Impact of your diet will also be affected by your genetic background
- Whole foods & natural ways of eating thrives!
- Purified diets simply survive!
Explain how foods contain more than just nutrients:
-The intestine responds to food by releasing hormones that send messages to the brain. The eater then experiences a feeling of satisfaction. (physical/emotional comfort)
What are the 3 energy-yielding nutrients? How much energy do they yield.
- Carbs (4 Cal/g), Fat (9 Cal/g), & Protein (4 Cal/g)
- By knowing this, you can make sure that you are meeting your energy needs, without consuming too many Calories.
How do you figure out how many Calories come from a particular nutrient?
-Multiply the number of Calories per gram by the number of total grams.
e.g.
100g of cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast has 31g of protein.
4Cal/g x 31g = 124 Calories.
What equates a balanced diet? What are the total daily Calories recommendations for protein, fats, & carbs?
- Nutritional health doesn’t depend on the individual foods you choose, but rather the foods you combine into meals, & the meals you eat over days.
- Nutrients that provide energy in our diets:
- 10-15% total daily Cals are from protein
- 30% or less Cals are from fats (should be unsaturated)
- 45-65% Cals are from carbs (complex rather than simple sugars)
Nutritional genomics:
-The actual risk of disease results from the interplay between the genes you inherit & the diet & other lifestyle choices you make.
The science of nutrition:
-Observation-Hypothesis-Experiment-Possible Theory
How a scientific theory is developed:
- If the result from repeated experiments supports the hypothesis, a theory can be developed.
- A single experiment is not enough to develop a theory
- A theory can challenged
Evaluating sources: What are some key points to look for when reading about nutrition in the new or the media?
-Remember these key points when you read about nutrition in the news or media:
- The study should be published in a peer-reviewed journal
- The news report should state the purpose of the study & describe the research method
- The report should clearly define subjects of the study
- Valid reports describe previous research & put current research into proper context
- Ask yourself if the study makes commonness
What are the different types of research? What is the placebo effect?
Human studies:
1. Epidemiological Studies (observational studies)-Observe a population over time. Can draw relationships between two factors, but can’t determine if one caused the other vice versa.
- Case Control Studies (type of epidemiological study)-based on observation, not intervention. Case who have a condition of interest are compared to cases who do not have the condition.
- Clinical Trials- Tightly controlled experiments in which an intervention is given to determine the effect on a certain disease or health condition. (experiment vs control groups)
Basic Laboratory Research
1. Laboratory Animal Studies- Dietary factors are controlled & unusual amounts & combos can be introduced, enabling scientists to test biological effects relating to the whole system e.g. cancer
- Tissue Cultural Studies- Dietary factors & nutrients are supplied directly to cells to determine whether or not they influence biological activities related to the development of progression of cancer (for e.g.)
Nutritional monitoring surveys- Make it possible for researchers to assess the nutrient status, health indicators, & dietary intake of the Canadian population.
Placebo Effect: Occurs when people experience beneficial effect because they believe the “treatment” will work.
